Service France Domaine
Service France Domaine is a French government agency,[1] which plays a central role in the property management of state-owned real estate in France.[2][3] France Domaine acts as the owner of the state real estate, and advises various public administrations in activities related to real estate,[4] for instance by coordinating the real estate strategy for different ministries.[5] France Domaine functions under the ministry for budget and state reform[6] (Ministère du Budget, des comptes publics, de la fonction publique et de la réforme de l'État),[7] headed by budget minister Éric Woerth.[8]
Since 2007, all ministries in the central administration pay internal rent to France Domaine for their use of state-owned real estate.[4][9] France Domaine is tasked with disposing property that is no longer used by the government, and which has become too costly or outdated to maintain.[1] All in all, its real estate operations include buying, selling, renting, and development.[2] Together with approximately 150 regional and local treasury offices under the Public Treasury (Trésor public), France Domaine performs all activities relating to the management of government property assets.[2][10] The aims for France Domaine include to ensure that state property is efficiently managed,[5] increasing the quality of public services, while at the same time reducing costs; and also improving the working environment for government employees.[2]
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[edit] State real estate stock
The state is the largest owner of real property in France.[11] In 2008, the French government property assets were valued at approximately 45 billion EUR.[8] A study done circa 2003 concluded that the government real estate stock comprised 120 to 150 million square meters of floor space, half of which was offices; the remainder consisting of warehouses, archival buildings, and some 300 000 residential buildings.[11] Approximately 80% of this real estate is occupied by government ministries and public administrative organizations.[11]
[edit] Sale of state-owned real estate
In 2005, the French government formed a strategy for state-owned real estate.[4] One of the goals was to reduce government debt by selling state-owned real estate on the market.[4] In 2005 the sales yielded 635 million EUR, and 798 million EUR in 2006.[3] However only 15% of the returns would be used to reduce public debt.[3] The larger part would be used as an economic incentive to economise on real estate holdings, by being returned to the ministries that previously occupied the property.[3]
Examples of such sales include:
- The St. Anne Prison in Avignon, built in 1865 during the reign of Napoleon III.[1]
- The former residence of the commander of the French Foreign Legion.[1]
- A foreign ministry building proximal to Champs-Élysées, near the Arc de Triomphe. Sold for 600 million dollars.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e The Washington Post 2007.
- ^ a b c d Trésor Public and France Domaine 2007, p.1
- ^ a b c d Eurointelligence 2007
- ^ a b c d OECD public governance committee, p. 20.
- ^ a b France Domaine 2007.
- ^ Regional European Forum on Reinventing Government, p. 1
- ^ Ministère du Budget
- ^ a b Business Immo 2008.
- ^ Trésor Public and France Domaine 2007, p. 2.
- ^ Trésor Public and France Domaine 2007, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Managing Government Property Assets 2007, p. 103. The information from this section might be from as early as 2003.
[edit] References
- Ministère du Budget, des comptes publics, de la fonction publique et de la réforme de l'État (2009). "Cessions immobilières de l'Etat [Transfers of state-owned real estate]" (in French). http://www.budget.gouv.fr/cessions/. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- Regional European Forum on Reinventing Government (2007). "Transformational Government: Creating the Public Administration of the Future [pdf]". http://www.eftg.it/documenti/16_france_deblasi.pdf. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- Trésor Public; France Domaine (2007). "State property management and the French public treasury [pdf]". http://www.budget.gouv.fr/cessions/pdf/who.pdf. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- Le Monde (2007). "How property sales boost government spending". Eurointelligence ASBL. http://www.eurointelligence.com/Article3.1018+M51bf2eb6943.0.html. Retrieved 29 July 2009.[dead link]
- Moore, Molly (December 26, 2007). "A Place for Some Time Away: France Seeks Buyer To Turn Old Prison Into a Luxury Hotel". The Washington Post. http://www.eurointelligence.com/Article3.1018+M51bf2eb6943.0.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009.[dead link]
- Business Immo (July 3, 2008). "Eric Woerth wants a single operator for state property". http://www.businessimmo.info/pages/lettre/fiche.php?s_code=080703F2885_en&page=33&lang=en. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- Bizet, Bernard (March 2006). "State real property asset management in France". In Kaganova, Olga; McKellar, James. Managing government property assets: International experiences. Washington DC: Urban Institute Press. pp. 231–270. ISBN 0-87766-730-6. http://books.google.fi/books?id=rMSJj5XqIqIC&lpg=PP1&dq=Olga%20Kaganova&pg=PP1. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- OECD, public governance committee (April 2007). "Country Factsheets [pdf]". http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2007doc.nsf/ENGDATCORPLOOK/NT00008F1A/$FILE/JT03224743.PDF. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- France Domaine (2007). "Property management policy of the French State [pdf]". http://www.minefi.gouv.fr/cessions/pdf/policy.pdf. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
[edit] External links
- Service France Domain — Official website (in French)
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